The 5 Best Podcast Apps for Android and iPhone

From true crime murder mysteries like S-Town to shows that provide smart commentary on culture, technology, and business like Still Processing, there’s reason to believe we’re in the golden age of podcasts.

But without podcast apps to organize your podcasts and easily discover new favorites, digging into the best podcasts can quickly become overwhelming.

Here’s a list of some of the best podcast apps you can get for Android and iOS.

Stitcher

Stitcher Radio’s clean and intuitive interface makes it one of the best podcast apps to use whether you’re looking for something new or just want to keep track of your favorite shows.

The main feed, which Stitcher calls the front page, offers up a stream of episodes from podcasts it thinks you’ll enjoy based on the topics you’ve chosen when creating your account. You can also browse through individual topics to find new podcasts, build a playlist of your favorite shows, and connect with other friends that use Stitcher to see what they’re listening to.

The app’s home screen is flexible too, offering the option to either set the front page, your favorites playlist, or saved episodes as the default page upon opening the app. The basic version of Stitcher is free, while the $4.99-per-month premium version includes ad-free listening, access to bonus episodes of certain shows, and original exclusive shows.

Spreaker Podcast Radio

Podcast fans who prefer to sample several shows at once rather than diving deeply into one series at a time may want to check out Spreaker. The app includes channels that curate a stream of episodes from different podcasts all centered around a specific theme, like comedy, U.S. news, financial news, and technology, among other topics.

As is the case with similar podcast apps, you can also explore different podcasts based on categories and topics. But Spreaker sorts shows into ultra-specific, Netflix-style categories, like Man Cave, Podcasts for Entrepreneurs, and Scary Storie, in addition to more common subjects like Education, Fitness, Technology, and Popular Shows, making it one of the best podcasts apps around.

Overcast

Overcast stands out for its sleek and minimalist design, which can feel refreshing compared to the sometimes cluttered interfaces found in many podcast apps. The first thing you see when opening the app is a list of the podcasts you currently follow. Tapping the plus icon in the upper right corner allows you to browse for new podcasts based on categories and topics such as comedy, technology, business, arts, news and politics, and most recommended.

There isn’t much else to Overcast, which is exactly why we think it’s one of the best podcast apps. But don’t let the app’s basic design fool you: There are several features here that other podcast apps lack, such as a Voice Boost for ensuring that speech volume is consistent and 3D Touch support for viewing episode details without being redirected to a new page. You can also choose to pay $9.99 per year for the premium ad-free version of Overcast.

Podbean

Podbean feels more an app store than it does a media player. With recommendations, top episodes, featured shows, and plenty of other categories prominently featured on the home screen, it’s clear that Podbean is focusing on putting curation front and center. Otherwise, Podbean has all of the basic features and playback controls to make it one of the best podcast apps, including options that let you adjust how many seconds to skip ahead when fast-forwarding and a setting for automatically downloading new episodes of podcasts you follow.

Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts is another user-friendly podcast app that makes it easy to find new podcasts based on shows that are popular and trending. Since the Discover page displays categories in a list format rather than as a carousel with thumbnail images, the app feels a bit neater than some alternatives. Pocket Casts’ main menu also has a section that houses all of your in-progress episodes in one place, and offers options to create new filters for sorting your podcasts based on a variety of factors, such as whether or not the episode has been downloaded, when the episode was released, and whether or not the episode is a video or audio show.

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